The mobile operator 3 parodies Rocky in a new £7m television ad campaign, hoping to present itself as a plucky underdog ready to conquer bigger rivals.
3, which has many fewer 3G customer numbers than rivals such as Vodafone and Orange, is using a loose adaptation of the story of Rocky IV in press, cinema and poster ads aiming to prove that it has the biggest 3G network and offers the best mobile internet experience.
The company is aiming to overturn what it sees as outdated customer suspicion resulting from problems it suffered in 2003, when launching the UK's first 3G network.
The campaign starts on Saturday, with a strong push for the following two weeks, and runs continues until 21 June. There is also a tie-in with pay-TV channel Virgin1 which is running a season of Rocky films.
In Rocky IV, which came out in 1985, Sylvester Stallone's plucky boxer travels to Russia; the film also starred Brigitte Nielsen as Ludmilla Vobet Drago and Dolph Lundgren as his Soviet opponent, Captain Ivan Drago.
"There have been a lot of problems in terms of perception and reputation," said Marc Allera, 3's sales and marketing director. "The challenge from a brand is that the perception is that of the company three or four years ago rather than the reality of today."
Back in 2003 the company had just 6,000 transmitter sites, which caused coverage issues for early subscribers. By 2008 this number had risen to just 6,500.
However, an investment programme running to tens of millions of pounds will see the network double in size by October, with about 13,000 sites across the UK.
The company believes the timing is right to launch a heavyweight campaign, developed by ad agency Glue London, to push the message that 3 offers "the best network for mobile internet".
"Our customers know we are OK, but non-customers think we are weak and rivals are better which is not the case," Allera said. "We want to get people to understand that we are building the biggest, most advanced 3G network in the UK."
3, and rival operators, have been given added impetus to embark on a marketing battle to land grab position as mobile internet leaders following the launch of products such as Apple's iPhone and iPad.
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